See and show how character and leadership matter today
Allen McClosekey has lived his entire life in Galveston, Indiana. He is now 89 years of age. He has had one job, that of a grave digger at the local cemetery. He has had that job since he was 19. He doesn’t want to retire because he is afraid that someone else will not do the job as well. He …
Hello and welcome. If you are reading this blog, this means that you are enrolled in a class where a teacher is using the Character Development and Leadership Curriculum. This program is designed to help you develop who you are as a person and to improve your leadership capabilities. This program should be fun and engaging. The blog post is …
Picture yourself on your way to work (or school). It’s cold, it’s early and you are tired. You are with a bunch of total strangers. You just want to mind your own business and get to your destination. Then, some random stranger breaks out in a joyful song and invites everyone to sing. It is a blatant attempt to get …
Thirteen years ago, Malachi Coleman and his little sister were abandoned by their mother. The siblings immediately went into the foster care system. Malachi claimed this was a miserable experience fraught with abuse and poor care. A few years later, the Coleman’s decided to adopt Malachi and his sister. The Coleman’s provided a loving home and a way for the …
If you don’t know, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest athletes ever to play professional sports. He won three national championships with the UCLA Bruins and then won 6 NBA championships. He is a six-time NBA MVP, two-time NBA Finals MVP, 19-time All-Star, two-time scoring champion, and a member of the NBA 35th and 50th Anniversary All-Time Teams. And …
Ellison is a 7-year-old boy with Down’s Syndrome. He has never had someone successfully cut his hair. Prior to meeting Vernon, the Noble Barber, he always resisted. Ellison was scared, startled and his mother had to hold him in bear hug to get through the ordeal. She and Ellison usually left in tears. She characterized each barber shop visit as …
Andrew Whitworth received the NFL’s most coveted award: The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award for 2021. This award honors a player’s commitment to philanthropy and community impact, as well as his excellence on the field. All 32 NFL teams nominate one player from their respective team and the NFL selects one winner each year. Last year, Whitworth …
There once was a young boy with a very bad temper. The boy’s father wanted to teach him a lesson, so he gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper he must hammer a nail into their wooden fence. On the first day of this lesson, the little boy had driven 37 …
Hurricane Ian smashed into southwestern Florida last week as a category 4 hurricane. It killed dozens of people, demolished hundreds of miles property and left millions without power. However, before the storm even hit, thousands of linemen from across the country assembled. They drove toward the storm. They met in pre-determined areas and they rode out the storm. When it …
Steve Harvey is a well-known celebrity. He is a comedian and he hosts several nationally syndicated shows on television. He is very wealthy. However, he is open about his journey. It was a tough journey with a lot of failures. He struggled mightily. It is well-documented that he almost quit a few days before he got his big break. There …
